As the Indian Easement Act 1882 came into force in Goa in 1978, the high court of Bombay at Goa has held that occupants of a cowshed (later converted into a tiled structure) constructed prior to 1966 have no right over it, as the land owner had served them notice to vacate the premises as required under the Portuguese Civil Code. The high court delivered the verdict recently setting aside lower court orders. Referring to Section 60 (b) of the Indian Easement Act, the subordinate courts had rejected the owner's plea to remove the portion of the cowshed, falling in his property. The lower courts held that the license granted for structure of permanent nature cannot be revoked merely by giving notice. Read More... [TOI]

In the News

Govt to revoke allotment of plots at IT Habitat

IT projects, which have been on the backburner in the state after the violent protests against the alleged irregularities stalled the IT Habitat, is slowly coming back into focus. This week the cabinet decided to revoke the allotment of plots at the Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat at Dona Paula. The decision came on the heels of strong indications from the government that it would push for revival of the long-stalled IT project while beginning an inquiry into irregularities in the proposed IT Park at Soccoro-Salvador do Mundo. The government is also set to bring in the Goa Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat (Cancellation/Abolition and Regulation of Allotment of Plots) Bill, 2012. A proposal to this effect has also been approved. [NT]

MLAs hike their monthly salary to Rs 1 lakh

MLAs have decided to give themselves a substantial 40 per cent salary hike, which will see their take away package touch Rs 1 lakh a month. The elected representatives have reached a consensus to give a much bigger package to MLAs and a meeting to the effect was held at Speaker’s chamber on Thursday. It is learnt that there were no dissenting voices when the proposal for the salary hike was presented before MLAs. Presently, a member of Goa Legislative Assembly takes home Rs 60,000 a month comprising salary of Rs 5000 and other allowances. This package is now proposed to be hiked to Rs 1 lakh. It has also been agreed to raise upper limit of car loan and housing loan which an elected member is entitled for. Last salary hike for Goa MLAs was given in 2009. [H]

Goa commission for minorities Bill, 2012 introduced in Goa assembly

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday introduced the Goa commission for minorities Bill, 2012 in Goa assembly to safe guard the interests of the minorities in the state of Goa and for the matters connected therewith. Under the introduced bill, government is allowed for creation of establishment called "Goa Commission for Minorities". The proposal is to be implemented by the home department. Government said that the Act may be called the Goa Commission for Minorities Act, 2012 and it shall extend to the whole of the state of Goa. [TOI]

CM assures to complete probe into suicide by cop in 60 days

Stating that some of the police personnel, especially, those in the lower ranks of the Goa Police work under tremendous stress, the Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar, on Thursday, assured the House that the police would complete investigation into the suicide of the police constable, Chadru Gawas within 60 days and file a charge sheet against those responsible. Earlier, the Nuvem MLA, Mr Francisco Xavier Pacheco by way of a Calling Attention Motion pointed out that the constable, in his dying declaration had named some officers from the police department, who were responsible for driving him to commit suicide by consuming Ratol. He further expressed concern that the government was trying to protect these police officers. [NT]

Power bills to go up

The government has proposed to hike the rates of duty leviable on the units consumed, by introducing the Goa Electricity Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2012 in Goa Assembly on Thursday. The bill when enacted into a law will repeal and replace the Goa Electricity Duty (Amendment) Ordinance, 2012 which was issued by the Governor on May 9, 2012, hiking the duty, after the new BJP coalition came to power. The Bill was tabled in the House by Power Minister Milind Naik justifying the hike on the ground that building up of the transmission and distribution network involves huge investment which cannot be met from the normal revenue requirement. And in order to mobilise additional revenue, it has proposed to amend the schedule appended to the Goa, Daman and Diu Electricity Duty Act, 1986 (Act 7 of 1986) so as to increase the rates of duty leviable on the units of energy consumed. [H]

NIO's Shetye appointed Goa varsity VC

Present National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) director Satish Shetye will be the new vice-chancellor of Goa University (GU). Orders for Shetye's appointment have been issued by chancellor and Goa governor BV Wanchoo, sources said. Sources said as per the order, he has been asked to take charge "with immediate effect". Shetye's tenure at NIO ends in October. The appointment of a VC at the earliest is vital as the constitution of the university's executive council has to take place in the first week of August every year. It is crucial that a full-time VC is in place before that. [TOI]

Donít handover seamen pension forms to MLAs, NRI Commissioner urged

The Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI) has urged the NRI Commissioner not to handover pension forms meant for retired seamen and widows to the MLAs fearing its misuse a la the DSSS scheme. In a representation, GSAI general secretary Benny Da Costa drew attention of NRI Commission Dr Wilfred Mesquita that the government should constitute a three-member panel to monitor the implementation of the scheme. The GSAI made a host of suggestions for the consideration of the NRI Commissioner for smooth implementation of the scheme so that its benefits are availed by the retired seamen and the widows. Benny told newsmen that the government may seek documents from the retired seafarers as well as widows before sanctioning the pension. The NRI Commissioner had last week informed that the government would launch the pension scheme for the retired seamen and widows on August 15 on Independence Day. [H]

Goa amends stamp duty, mine owners to pay 15pc royalty

The Goa government has approved an amendment to the Stamp Duty Act under which mine owners will have to pay 15 per cent of royalty for next 20 years for getting renewal of the lease. The amendment is expected to mop up revenue of Rs 2,500 crore for the state government this fiscal, resulting in the additional revenue mobilisation. The cabinet meeting held this week approved the amendment, which will be tabled on the floor of the House during the ongoing state Assembly session. In the past, the state government had not been renewing the mining leases, letting it run on the deemed provisions. [TOI]

Revenue Minister promises to appoint 16 more mamlatdars

Revenue Minister Francisco D’Souza promised to appoint 16 more mamlatdars along with staff to ensure that there is one for each constituency, besides also take the burden of the civil supplies department away from the mamlatdars as part of efforts to reduce the load on mamlatdars. Replying to the discussion the demands for grants, the revenue minister acknowledged that there was a huge burden on the mamlatdars especially since they also have to deal with issues of ration cards which actually come under the civil supplies department. “There will be more mamlatdars constituency wise along with support staff. We should take away the civil supplies department from the mamlatdars so they can give proper decisions in quasi-judicial matters and focus on their constitutional duties,” D’Souza said adding that the new mamlatdars will have all the necessary staff at their disposal to perform their duties. [H]

Overflowing sewage: Vasco civic chief assures clean up act

The chairperson of Mormugao Municipal Council, Ms Sarika Palkar has disclosed that she would take action against those responsible for overflow of sewage in front of the railway station in the heart of the Vasco town. She said, “I would direct the municipal authorities and sanitary inspectors to visit the site and take necessary action against those discharging sewage in the open.” She added that the work of removing blockages in the sewerage chamber will be taken up on a war footing and the problem will be sorted out permanently. The overflowing sewage in front of the railway station, is posing health hazard to several people living in the vicinity besides creating a lot of inconvenience to those who frequent the area. There has been a constant flow of sewage in the open from the residential cum commercial building located in front of the railway station. [NT]

Vasco MLAs to demand ban on alcohol in sachets

Voicing concern over easy availability of alcohol in Rs 5 sachets across the State, legislators in the port town have assured to raise the issue in the ongoing assembly session. While both Power Minister Milind Naik and Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida have agreed to demand a ban on this product "to protect innocent lives,", NGOs and parents have urged the government to take immediate steps to prevent students from falling prey to cheap and easily available alcohol. "I will personally take up this issue with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who also holds the excise portfolio," assured Power Minister and Mormugao MLA Milind Naik. "I will also have a meeting with excise officials and if possible, will urge the government to ban the product before it ruins young lives," the minister added. [H]

HC directs monitoring of beaches

The high court of Bombay at Goa recently directed the Goa state pollution control board (GSPCB) to formulate an effective coastal zone management plan in collaboration with Goa coastal zone management authority (GCZMA) for regular monitoring and control of tar ball formation on the beaches in the state. A division bench comprising Justice A P Lavande and Justice U V Bakre passed the directions while disposing of a public interest litigation filed by Ian D'Costa. The petitioner had raised the issue of residue and tar balls being deposited on the beaches of Goa. [TOI]

Consultant appointed to oversee central infrastructure projects

In a bid to give a fillip to infrastructure development, the State tourism ministry has appointed M/s Lotus Environment as a consultant to facilitate planning, designing and execution of various central financial assistance projects. This is what tourism minister Dilip Parulekar has stated in a written reply to the Goa Assembly today. He was replying to queries from Valpoi MLA Vishwajit Rane. According to Parulekar the consultant will help to prepare detailed project reports for proposed tourism infrastructure development identified by the department. The consultant has to prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) which shall include conceptual designs, drawings, cost estimates based on plinth area for various works. [H]

CMC chief complies with agreement, resigns

Chairperson of the Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) Ramakant Naik Gaonkar, resigned from his post. Gaonkar said that this is as per an agreement to allow the rotation policy among the six councilors who form the ruling panel, so that each one can get an opportunity to serve as chairperson. He added that the written agreement was signed by six councilors at the time of the formation of the CMC after the elections and an oath was taken at Shri Mallikarjun temple at Canacona. The resignation letter has been forwarded to the directorate of municipal administration with a copy to Canacona chief officer cum deputy collector Prashant Shirodker. When contacted, ward number 9 councillor Simon Rebello said that he will be the next chairperson, as per the agreement. [TOI]

Invitation - Publishing Next, Sept 14th and 15th, 2012

The second edition of PUBLISHING NEXT, THE CONFERENCE ON THE "FUTURE OF PUBLISHING". We have lined up a strong list of speakers and have planned a packed session consisting of panel discussions, workshops and insight talks. We have had a very mild response from people in Goa and we hope these last few days will change that. The conference will be held on the 14TH AND 15TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2012 AT THE KRISHNADAS SHAMA STATE CENTRAL LIBRARY, PATTO and is being held in association with them. There will be VARIOUS PANEL DISCUSSIONS - on how to get children and young adults to read, the state of Indian language and academic publishing and the steps that can be taken to encourage new authors and publishers. There will also be WORKSHOPS on how to self-publish, how to measure the ROI on digital investments, how to work with online retailers and how to develop books for the mobile platforms. We have also planned for INSIGHT TALKS BY SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE INDIAN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY , such as Ashish Goel (formerly Amar Chitra Katha), R Sundar Rajan (Just Books), Ganesh Devy (Bhasha Research Centre) and Badri Seshadri (New Horizon Media). The full programme can be viewed at http://www.publishing-next.com/pn-12/schedule/ [2] The SPEAKERS WHO HAVE CONFIRMED THEIR PARTICIPATION INCLUDE THOSE FROM LEADING PUBLISHING HOUSES in India such as Pratham Books, Hippocampus, Hachette India, Penguin India, Karadi Tales,Indiaplaza.com. Springer India, New Horizon Media, Duckbill and many others. These publishing houses cater to various genres like children 39;s books, academic books and books in Indian languages. Who should attend: Publishers (in all Indian languages) Authors Editors Self-publishing Authors Illustrators Digital Content Creators and disseminators Booksellers and Distributors Book Marketers Content Curators Academia Bloggers Registrations are now open. If you wish to know more about the conference please email us at or visit our website. (Joel D'souza)

Efforts would be made to further reduce rate of tobacco consumption: CM

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar today said that efforts would be continued to bring down the rate of tobacco consumption and would target the reduction to 6 per cent. This statement was made after Sanquelim MLA Dr Pramod Sawant moved a motion congratulating the government for the State award conferred on it for ranking first in the list of States with the least tobacco consumption at 8.8 per cent. While Opposition leader Pratapsingh Rane hailed the efforts of late Dr Sharad Vaidya who pioneered the movement, others acknowledged the efforts of the Goa Cancer Society, the Goa unit of NOTE. Parrikar said that the government proposes to strictly enforce from September this year the prohibition on smoking and urinating in public places. Rane had earlier urged the government to look into the problem of spitting at the Goa Medical College, “This is very unhygienic especially at a hospital,” he said. [H]

Service Tax Seminar

Finance Act 2012, has brought about a paradigm shift in the basis for levying Service Tax by introducing the concept of Negative List of Services. From selective basis of levying Service Tax, as at present, the levy is set to be imposed on all services except those specified in the Negative List. The new system has become effective from 1 st July 2012. The new Service Tax legislation has introduced some important changes like Declared services, Bundled services, Taxable territory, Place of Provision of Services Rules, Changes in Service Tax Rules to cover exports and in Valuation Rules, Reverse Charge Mechanism and Abatements etc. It is important that for smooth transition to the new system, Service providers, manufacturers and other stake holders need to be fully prepared. In order to guide the Service Providers and Manufacturers as well as other stake holders including the Service tax Professionals, the Chamber has arranged a full day seminar on Monday , 13 th August 2012 at the Chamber’s Surendrababu Timblo Hall in Panaji. The seminar will be addressed by well known Service Tax experts like CA Badrinath and CA Parimal Kulkarni. Those interested in attending the seminar should contact GCCI. (Joel D'souza)

Sports

Unity HS, Valpoi top taluka U-17 Subroto

Unity High School, Valpoi continued with their winning run, clinching the taluka level inter-school Under-17 Subroto Cup football tournament organised at Valpoi. They bagged the title after beating Government High School (GHS), Keri 2-0 in the finals. GHS had virtually dominated the tournament in the first session by not conceding even a single goal. However, Rehan Shaikh who turned out to be a key match-winner through his shooting skills passed the ball to Sajjan Mayekar and Sabir Shaikh who without missing their attempts scored two goals respectively in last three minutes. Earlier in semis, they defeated Government Higher Secondary, Valpoi in the penalty shootout. Meanwhile, the school headmaster congratulated the team and the PE teacher, Mr Akram Shaikh for bringing laurels to the school. [NT]